The dominant form in downtown Toronto is concrete. The dominant color, grey. With quad-lane roads, condos on superblocks with large setbacks, and few trees to soften the omnipresent shades of charcoal, your first impression on visiting the core is how grim it is, and how unpleasant your experience as a pedestrian.

Anyone curious about the Ontario government’s attitude towards craft distillers need only read its Striking the Right Balance report. For all its talk of “Modernizing Wine and Spirits Retail and Distribution in Ontario”, the report focuses almost exclusively on wine, beer and…cider.